~by Valerie Ogren, Greene County Genealogical Society
Meeting notice: The next meeting of the Greene County Genealogical Society will be Saturday, May 2, at 10 am in the basement meeting room of the Jefferson public library. Karen Pound will present her program “Silent Cities,” with pictures of various gravestone art and explain its meaning. Come early and try out the new elevator. The room is handicapped accessible and guests are always welcome. Marcia Tasler and Pam Olerich were so kind to host our courthouse meetings and really spoiled us by serving coffee and donuts. Does anyone want to volunteer to put the coffee pot on again?
County fair: Yes, I know. It isn’t until July. But don’t wait until the last minute. If you don’t already have a list of Open Class exhibits for the Genealogy Section, pick up one at our reference library or at the Greene County Extension office. Elaine Deluhery and Joan Nugent are so good at this job by now they can find a category for almost anything. The president of Iowa Genealogical Society, Theresa Liewer, will again be our judge.
Reference library: If you have an interest in family history but need some help getting started, we have volunteers in our reference room every Wednesday from 1 to 4 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to noon. We have an online computer and can help you find some free sites. There is also a copy machine if you find something in the printed material you would like copied. If you need ancestor charts or family group sheets, we have them available.
Long distance research: A recent query came from a man in Norway who wanted info on a family member named Johnson in Iowa. Whoah!! Thinking it was something that had been sent to all 99 counties, I ignored it for a couple days. When I looked again, I noticed the first name was unusual – Taletta. I wondered how many Taletta Johnson’s there might be in Iowa so checked the website Findagrave.com. Although the query didn’t mention Greene County, I was apparently the only one he emailed. Lo and behold, Taletta Johnson (wife of Carl Gustav Johnson) is buried in the Greenbrier Cemetery and was Rudy Johnson’s mother! The world gets smaller every day.
Membership dues: Just a gentle reminder – dues are due ASAP. Our year runs January – December. We recently changed our bylaws to allow a lifetime membership. If you have a problem remembering if you have paid, this is a “one and done” way to go.
Greene County publications: Except for membership dues, our main source of income to maintain the reference library is the sale of our publications. They include: early births, deaths, marriages, cemetery records, 1856, 1860 and 1925 Greene County census, indexes for death notices and obits in the Jefferson papers (through 1945), Globe Free Press, Churdan Reporter, Scranton Journal, Bagley Gazette and Bayard Gazette. You may browse these publications free in our reference library or the adult section of the Jefferson public library. If you are interested in purchasing, send a SASE for a price list.
Contact us: Our web page is located at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iagcgs/. Email us at gcgsiowa@hotmail.com or P O Box 133, Jefferson IA 50129-0133.
